The current trend in skate boot construction is to manufacture the boot from multiple components of thermoformed and injection molded plastic. The main structure of the boot is commonly thermoformed on a compression mold that shapes a flat sheet of plastic into a 3D structure. The main limitation of this method is that seams are created where the thermoformed material meets and therefore require a reinforcing element to bridge the seams. As commonly seen in the prior art the resulting seam through the center of the sole needs to be reinforced with a rigid midsole and outsole. This adds weight and the potential for premature breakdown and wear through the sole of the boot. An example of this in the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,609.
Some alternative skate boot construction can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,219,900 and 7,140,127 where the authors disclose a support structure composed of carbon fiber and the like, which has the liner, eyelet cuff, tendon guard, and external cuff bonded to the already fabricated support structure. With this process it is difficult to bond the liner into the already fabricated support structure cleanly and smoothly, creating inconsistency in the final product and higher reject rates. The eyelet cuff is not substantially integrated into the support structure and is only bonded and/or stitched to the support structure, therefore when the laces are tightened the bonded eyelet cuff bends around the support structure and does not uniformly pull the skate boot body over the instep of the wearer's foot. Also, the tendon guard is only bonded to the top of the support structure creating the potential for accelerated wear as the wearer extends their ankle and forces the tendon guard to flex back and then forth. With all current boot construction methods the tongue is permanently attached to the main boot body, and the main disadvantage of this is that the position of the tongue with respect to the skate boot body cannot be adjusted to the preference of the wearer.
Another limitation of the current construction of skate boots is the composition of the area covering the instep of the wearer's foot. This area needs to be constructed with wearer comfort and function as primary manifestations, and therefore cannot be constructed to also adequately protect the foot from the impact of a fast moving hockey puck. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,854,200, 5,829,170, 5,566,476, 5,234,230 discloses some manifestation of a protective plastic cover that covers at least the lace area of the skate boot. The major limitation of these inventions is that the resulting product is not being widely used and players continue to suffer foot injuries. Some reasoning for the lack of use are that the protectors do not fit tight enough to the skate boot, which creates obstruction to the wearer while striding. Also, players complain that they need to see laces to feel comfortable when they look down while striding. Also, the plastic covers tend to be heavy and thick which also turns off the players.
The present invention provides a skate boot to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems with the current state of the art.